Explanation: NASA’s Ingenuity mini-helicopter The helicopter weighs 18 kilograms Context: NASA’s Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight. The helicopter had been fixed to the belly of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Red Planet on February 18. Challenges on the martian surface for Ingenuity: Ingenuity will be attempting to fly in an atmosphere that is one percent the density of Earth’s, which makes achieving lift harder — but will be assisted by gravity that is one-third of our planet’s. It will now have to use its own battery to run a vital heater to protect its unshielded electrical components from freezing and cracking during the bitter Martian night. The rover is designed to study signs of ancient life, collect samples that might be sent back to Earth during future missions, and test new technology that might benefit future robotic and human missions to the planet. (∴ Option 3 is correct)